American Go E-Journal » Tools: books, software & hardware

There is a new capture go app for Apple devices, designed for the very young. “I created this app for my six-year-old grandson who was showing interest in my go playing, but was not yet mature enough to understand ko fights, trade-offs, and sacrifice,” says developer Tim Hoel. The app walks users through rules and basic concepts, all with spoken narration. Beginners can see examples of how situations play out, and then find solutions themselves. Simple lessons build from there, of which there are several, and then you can play against the computer. It has three difficulty levels, so players can move up against the machine. At level three, it is smart enough to occasionally catch even an experienced player. Level one stays easy enough to keep young kids from getting frustrated. Lessons can be reviewed at any point, and the rules are printed out in a separate tab as well. As this is capture go, and not regular go, one has to keep playing until one or more stones are captured. Passing is not an option, which means you will need to fill in your own eye if there are no other moves. Young players likely won’t make it to this point anytime soon, but when they do, it is arguable they are ready for full go. “Capture Go is a great way to get started because the rules are a little simpler and the goal is easy to understand, but it still teaches a lot about recognizing liberties, contact fights, forcing sequences, and planning ahead,” adds Hoel. iPhone and iPad users can find the free app in the App Store, there is no Android version. -Paul Barchilon, EJ Youth Editor

“The Surrounding Game” — the award-winning documentary about go — is coming to Netflix starting on August 30. Anyone with a Netflix account will be able to watch for free in the US, as well as in English-speaking territories, South Korea, and Japan. “To celebrate the Netflix release, we’ll also be rolling out some special discounts on our web store” says co-director Cole Pruitt. “We’re excited to share the film with new audiences!”

Nick Sibicky celebrated his 300th recorded go lecture by playing Andrew Jackson in front of 25 go fans at the Seattle Go Center on May 21. Pizza for the jovial crowd was provided by the AGA Chapter Rewards program. Mr. Sibicky’s first 299 lectures have already been posted at his YouTube page. Go fans who want to attend a free live lecture this summer should come to the Seattle Go center on a Monday evening in June, at 6:30 p.m. Sibicky will not be lecturing in July or August at the center, but he will be going to the U.S. Go Congress. “The go community is the most fantastic group of people in the world and I am so happy to be a part of it!” he said. “Thanks to all, see you in Williamsburg!”– report and photos by Brian Allen

In other Slate and Shell news, Iwamoto Kaoru’s classic book “Invasion in Common Go Positions,” is available again. This book was originally published as part of “Keshi and Uchikomi: Reduction and Invasion in Go.” After substantial revision, the “Keshi” section was republished as “Invasions.” This definitive work analyzes both how to invade common situations in go games and how to defend against such invasions. “These are normal situations that regularly occur, making the discussion useful in everyday play,” says Cobb.

The OpenStudyRoom (OSR), an online community with a focus on playing, studying and teaching go, now has over 500 users. First created in February 2017, the community features study lectures, events and league games on a weekly basis. OSR is currently partnered with Guo Juan’s InternetGoSchool, Shawn’s Go Group, Explore Baduk and Alexandre Dinerchtein’s go school.

“It’s a group filled with heart,” writes Angie Scheeler. “Not only do they charge nothing, they also give prizes away to the participants. It’s a testament that go is not dead even after artificial intelligence has changed the playing field.”

The online compilation of all the Member’s Edition material published in the E-Journal during the year, the Yearbook enables you to quickly find the material you’re looking for on a month-by-month list. Once selected, game records or PDFs open up quickly and easily for your review or download. The Yearbook collection also includes bonus files not originally included in the E-Journal. As a special bonus in the 2017 edition, we’ve bundled all of Michael Redmond’s game commentaries on the amazing AlphaGo games released this year.

The Yearbook will be released on January 1 so join now and get your year off to a great start! The Yearbook also brings together previously-published Special Edition reports on events like the US Go Congress, the World Amateur Go Championship and the Cotsen with other features – also previously released – such as the Member’s Edition Collection Of Games, Commentaries & More, The Year in Headlines, Games & Commentaries, Instruction, The Go Player’s Guide to the World, Go Spotting and Youth reports.

Registration is now open here for the upcoming 20th season of the American Yunguseng Dojang, In-seong Hwang’s on-line go school on KGS. Mark Lee (right), AGA 7d who this year won the Cotsen Tournament for the 3rd consecutive time, will join the faculty as one of the reviewers of students’ games. The season will run from January 2 to March 23, 2018.

The American Yunguseng Dojang has been running successfully for four years. Main teacher and founder In-seong Hwang, 8 dan from South-Korea, is the No.1 rated player in Europe and national go teacher of France and Switzerland.

In the just-completed season, 54 students competed in nine six player leagues. As of December 22, there are 40 players
out of 54 maximum registered for League play in the 20th season. Strengths range from 7d to 12k. Additionally there are 15 registered as spectators.

League players receive: 15 reviews (5 each month) of the games they play; 9 lectures (3 each month) on various aspects of the game of go, each one thoroughly illustrated by the analysis of example positions. Game reviews and lectures occur live on KGS and afterwards are added to the video library on the Yunguseng web site. The library now contains over 200 lectures besides the game reviews; a personal page for League players listing their games and with links to their game reviews; after the season, a personal go report commenting on your style of play.

Spectators receive access to the Yunguseng room on KGS where they can watch games, reviews, and lectures live and access to the library of lectures and game reviews on the web site.

You can find full information and register for the 20th season on the Yunguseng website here. Once you register, you receive full access to the video library on the web.– Robert Gilman

Being a collection of interesting items – in no particular order – that have landed in our in-box in recent months but never made it into the E-Journal.New adds to Kiseido’s year-end sale: Kiseido has added a few more items to their year-end sale of go books and go equipment, including the 2018 Ukiyo-e Calendar , shell & slate go stones, a new original ukiyo-e print and of course go books.

Stop, Go Murder: A story about murder, the game of go, and the role of happenstance in shaping our lives. Introduces Steven Crane, a homicide detective who has come to see his life, including his current case, as a deceiving game of go. A first novel — available on Amazon — from Paul Freeman, the former mayor of Laguna Beach, CA, who is available for book signings and other go club functions: call Ken Levine at (818) 414-6002. Bulk club discounts are available.

Bill Camp, former Manager at the Seattle Go Center, has surfaced in the world go community four years after moving to Australia. With his wife,Marian, he recently launched kimonoquilt.com, which offers refurbished antique gobans, stones, bowls and other go accessories, along with quilts Marian makes “from fabric used and loved and worn in another life.” Like the quilts, the go equipment merges old and new, as Camp uses his experience with fine woodworking to bring antique go equipment back to life.

“Renovating, repairing, sanding, re-printing, oiling and polishing has taken many months of detailed devotion,” says Camp. “Transformed from the years sitting in storage, the stains and dirt removed, each surface carefully and lovingly tended to, these bowls and boards once again approach their original condition.”